Normandy's Coles honored for above-average effort

BOWLING

On Week 24 in the Thursday Club 55 league at Brunswick Normandy, Rita Coles exceeded her average by 59 pins and was named Bowler of the Week.

"I guess that I've been bowling for about 30 years," Coles said. "Long enough that I've had to drop the weight of my bowling ball from 15 pounds to 13 pounds."

With that 13-pound ball, Coles carries a 149 average with a high game of 226 and a high series of 600-plus. She bowls in another league -- the Wednesday Senior Merry Makers at Woodlawn.

* Lou Bender retired from the Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. after 44 years. He lives in Ellicott City and carries a 178 average in two leagues: the Thursday Club 55 and the Friday night Gas & Electric leagues.

"I've been bowling for more 50 years," Bender said. "I started with duckpins, of course, and switched to tenpins.

Switched with a great deal of success -- in addition to that 178 average, Bender has a high game of 265 and a high series of 630.

On Week 25 of the season at Brunswick Normandy, he tossed a 249 -- 72 pins over average, good for Bowler of the Week.

* Frank Bromley of Catonsville is another Baltimore native who started out bowling duckpins.

"When I was a kid it was duckpins or nothing," Bromley said. "Tenpins didn't get popular around here until after the war. I bowled duckpins on the Sealtest company team when I worked there."

That's World War II and Bromley switched to tenpins with enthusiasm. Today he bowls in four leagues. On Thursday it's the Club 55 at Normandy, then on Tuesday it's on to Rolling road for the TNT league, Tuesday evening it's down to Fair Lanes Ritchie and Wednesday back to Ritchie for another league.

Bromley, throwing a 14-pound Columbia U-Dot ball, has a 168 average with a high game of 256 and a high set of 600-plus.

On Week 26 of the Club 55 season he was 61 pins over average to become Bowler of the Week.

Young bowlers of the week

Jamon Murray lives in Baltimore with his parents, Roscoe and Diane.

"He started bowling duckpins when he was 4," Diane said. "His older brother, DeAndre used to take him bowling and he was Jamon's first coach."

Jamon, a fifth-grader at Glenmount Elementary, bowls in the Saturday YABA league at Brunswick Normandy and carries a 110 average with a high game of 178. For Week 28 of the YABA season, Jamon firedscores that were 57 pins over average to make him Bowler of the Week.

* Jerry Blair, 14, was 82 pins over his average for the Bowler of the Week crown for Week 28.

The sophomore at Catonsville High lives in Catonsville with his mother, Barbara, and his stepfather, Wayne Bunk, a youth coach. Jerry bowls at Brunswick Normandy in the YABA Saturday league.

Bowling for about two years, Blair carries a 138 average, and last month he pounded out a 223 game, the highlight of his career.

New leagues at Normandy

Brunswick Normandy has a couple of summer leagues starting soon.

* An adult/child league will begin on May 27 at 6:30 p.m. The Thursday league will have a four-member team format -- two adults and two children per team.

* The Junior Friendship league will begin June 23 at 11 a.m. with three on a team. Every bowler receives a slice of pizza and a small soda each week. Information: (410) 465-0355.